If you look around at the rooftop solar installations, you’ll notice that the solar panels aren’t actually part of the roof — instead, they’re set on structures resting on top of the roof. That seems like a waste of materials. Dutch designer Ruben Beijer from Stafier Holland bv came up with an ingenious design for a new type of rooftop solar array in which the solar panels replace the roof tiles and serve as part of the roof structure. The PV Premium photovoltaic in-roof system seamlessly integrates with existing roof tiles, opening up new possibilities for integrating solar technology with architecture.
Since 2001, Dutch company Stafier Holland has been developing a new type of rooftop solar panel that looks and acts like a roof tile. Current rooftop solar panels are slightly elevated from rooftops, making it difficult for architects to integrate them into existing rooftops. These new solar tiles solve that issue, and they can be used in both new buildings and existing structures. The panels fit so seamlessly into existing roof tiles they are virtually invisible.
The Stafier Holland PV Premium photovoltaic system doesn’t just look nice, though; the panels perform very well and are durable. The system is waterproof, and it has been tested in a wind tunnel to prove that it can stand up to powerful storms. The PV Premium photovoltaic in-roof system was recently given a 2013 Best of the Best Red Dot Design Award.
+ Stafier Holland
